Burma: Democracy on the Edge

May 1, 2012 • 7:05 pm

For decades Burma’s people have been caught in the iron grip of a military dictatorship that stamped out any whiff of dissent and sealed off the country from outside scrutiny. A clique of generals cast themselves as the country’s guardians, and treated any who questioned their policies as enemies of the state. As the Southeast Asian country now experiences a dramatic, if still qualified, democratic opening, figures previously deemed subversive are now finding a protected place in the public sphere to weigh in on the country’s affairs. A production for HDNet’s World Report, broadcast in May 2012, this video by Adam Kaufman and me profiles three prominent figures whose independent voices in politics, journalism and the arts once made them outlaws but who are now being celebrated for their contributions.